The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis: Hell and Life after Death
A Whole New World
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis gives the reader a new perspective on hell and life after death. Written in the demons point of view, a new light is shed on the amount of work put in to tempting humans into hell. Zeroing in on the struggles and conflicts humans go through on a day to day basis, Lewis is able to make his novel timeless for all generations past and here to come. Though it is not exactly clear why Lewis ended the novel with such a broad idea, The Screwtape Letters offers much insight and life lessons.
After ruthless attacks on the patient in The Screwtape Letters, the outcome seems to be leaning more towards the favor of the demons. In one letter to Wormwood, Screwtape goes as far as to say that he is “obviously making excellent progress” (Lewis 57). Even after several triumphs for the demons, the patient still ends up in heaven and the reader is left questioning why this would happen and why Screwtape would be okay with it. One probable solution for this question may be that C.S. Lewis wanted the reader to see the demons as a threat, even after defeat. If Lewis would have portrayed the demons to be weak and submissive, the reader would pass them off. Lewis spent his whole novel building up the demonic characters as a force not to be reckoned with. Though after losing their patient, it would seem easier for the demons to just face their defeat, Screw tape instead continues to plan. Still seeking to ultimately defeat God, in the last paragraph Screwtape says, “If only we could find out what He is really up to!” (Lewis 175). In an in adverted way, because Lewis portrays the demons as creatures who never give up, he instills fear in the readers. Accomplishing a goal is a huge achievement, but being able to lose everything and yet still see the bigger picture takes extreme optimism and is even more admirable.
Though at the end of the novel Screwtape and Wormwood lose the patient and everything they had worked so hard for,
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis gives the reader a new perspective on hell and life after death. Written in the demons point of view, a new light is shed on the amount of work put in to tempting humans into hell. Zeroing in on the struggles and conflicts humans go through on a day to day basis, Lewis is able to make his novel timeless for all generations past and here to come. Though it is not exactly clear why Lewis ended the novel with such a broad idea, The Screwtape Letters offers much insight and life lessons.
After ruthless attacks on the patient in The Screwtape Letters, the outcome seems to be leaning more towards the favor of the demons. In one letter to Wormwood, Screwtape goes as far as to say that he is “obviously making excellent progress” (Lewis 57). Even after several triumphs for the demons, the patient still ends up in heaven and the reader is left questioning why this would happen and why Screwtape would be okay with it. One probable solution for this question may be that C.S. Lewis wanted the reader to see the demons as a threat, even after defeat. If Lewis would have portrayed the demons to be weak and submissive, the reader would pass them off. Lewis spent his whole novel building up the demonic characters as a force not to be reckoned with. Though after losing their patient, it would seem easier for the demons to just face their defeat, Screw tape instead continues to plan. Still seeking to ultimately defeat God, in the last paragraph Screwtape says, “If only we could find out what He is really up to!” (Lewis 175). In an in adverted way, because Lewis portrays the demons as creatures who never give up, he instills fear in the readers. Accomplishing a goal is a huge achievement, but being able to lose everything and yet still see the bigger picture takes extreme optimism and is even more admirable.
Though at the end of the novel Screwtape and Wormwood lose the patient and everything they had worked so hard for,